Ant Control Treatments
Ants can be a serious nuisance in your home and business. Their nature and social structure makes them particularly difficult to control.
Ants will travel a fair distance in the search for food, laying down chemical trails leading other ants to a source of food, often resulting in an infestation.
Eraserpest are highly knowledgeable when it comes to controlling Ants in and around Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.
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How to get rid of Ants?
For properties in and around Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk the most effective way to get rid of ants from your home or business is to use a professional in ant control who will use integrated pest management to control them.
Our ant pest control treatments follow a 3-step plan with a 4th as an optional extra
- Carry out a professional survey to work out the level of the infestation and the access points they are using and whether the nest is located.
- Use the appropriate treatments where indoors or out to quickly and effectively erase the ants.
- Advise you on the proofing measures needed to prevent future infestations and carry out any work needed.
- Using our specialist machinery, we can either:
– Use an ant killer spray indoors, removing any uncovered food and unprotected eating/cooking utensils from the treatment area
– Use an ant killer insecticide application outdoors, moving any pots or loose garden ornaments to 2 metres away from your treatment area
One of the most common questions we get here at Eraserpest is ‘how can I tell if I have a ant infestation?’. Some of the common signs of ants in your home, garden or business is spotting them inside your home, seeing clusters of them on uncovered food, nests forming in or near your home, garden or business. If you have noticed these signs of ants, give our experts in ant control a call to resolve your problem and give you advice on how to prevent future issues.
We offer a range of ant control treatments across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk from one off visits to contracts for homes, businesses, equine and agricultural premises.
Helpful information on Ants
The Black Ant (Lasius niger)
- Also known as the common black ant
- 5–4.5 mm long, slim, colour black.
- Nests underground, commonly under stones, but also in rotten wood, and under roots.
- Colonies can reach in size up to around 5,000 workers
- A queen can live up to 15 years and it has been claimed that some have lived for 30 years
- Queens in the early stages of founding can have two to three other queens in the nest. They will tolerate each other until the first workers come, then it is most likely they will fight until one queen remains
Lasius flavus
- Also known as the meadow ant
- The queen is 7–9 mm long, males 3–4 mm and workers 2–4 mm
- Their colour varies from yellow to brown, with queen and males being slightly more darkly coloured
- The species lives primarily underground in meadows and very commonly, lawns
- Feeds on the honeydew from root aphids, which they breed in their nests
Lasius umbratus
- Also known as the yellow shadow ant or yellow lawn ant
- The queens of this species seek out a Lasius niger worker ant, to first kill in order to gain the worker ant’s scent and then to discreetly sneak inside a Lasius niger nest Once inside the Lasius umbratus queen finds the Lasius niger queen, and kills her. The worker ants will care for the new queen’s larvae and slowly the colony will be made up of only Lasius umbratus
Pharaoh Ants (Monomorium pharaonis)
- Yellowish bodies with red and black markings on the abdomen
- Very small, around 2mm in length
- They make their way indoors through torn window screens, poorly sealed doors, windows or other entryways
- Colonies can grow rapidly, especially if they go unnoticed near kitchens and pantries
- They can spread disease and are considered one of the most difficult indoor ants to control
- Incorrect use of pesticides may prompt the insects to split off from existing colonies and begin new colonies in new locations rather than leave
How to tell if you have an ant infestation
When an ant infestation is present, none of your exposed leftovers are safe, ants will eventually find out the exposed food. Ants aren’t picky; they’ll eat whatever food is available, including food which belongs to your pets. If you have dogs or cats, you’ll likely find a trail of ants leading up to and inside their food bowl.
When there’s a infestation present, there will be plenty of scout ants wandering around your home. If you regularly spot individual ants in unconventional places, such as your bedroom or the bathroom, they are probably part of a much larger infestation.
Ants won’t often build their nests inside of your home, but infestations are usually accompanied by nests that are within close distance of the house, or even adjacent to exterior walls. Look for small mounds of dirt with plenty of ants milling around. They will seem minor and insignificant, but there are countless ants just underneath the surface.
How to Get Rid of Indoor Ants
Ants leave scent trails when they find food. You need to erase these trails using cloths soaked in disinfectant or bleach, water alone won’t solve the problem.
- A simple mixture of water and vinegar can also effectively erase the trail. Your aim here is to destroy the trail; you aren’t actually killing any ants.
- You can also use some home solutions to repel ants. For example, ants don’t like citrus smells. You can create a repellent by blending lemon juice, orange peels or cucumber rinds with warm water. Then dip a cloth into the solution and use it to wipe down your surfaces. You can use a similar solution to mop the floor.
- Spices and herbs are also known to repel ants. Effective options include garlic, mint, basil, cayenne or chilli pepper, cloves or black pepper.
- Caulk can also be used to seal up entry points. Use it to seal cracks around doors and windows
How to Get Rid of Outdoor Ants
If you only have ants in a certain area, like along your sidewalk, spot-treat the area with an outdoor insecticide. Sprays work fine as a way to get rid of ants.
We offer a range of ant pest control treatments from one off visits to contracts for homes, businesses, equine and agricultural premises.
How much does ant pest control cost?
For a quote on ant pest control across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk, do not hesitate to contact us via email at contact@eraserpest.com or call us on 07572 458216.